With the moldings cut for the V-berth head, next I had to sand them and send them off to the paint shop to be coated with ICA base coat clear, then finished with ICA top coat clear. It’s still hot and humid in the Mid-Atlantic region, which isn’t helping the project move along. But even fits and starts are still moving forward.
Moldings ready for sanding
My super-fancy molding sanding jig
Sanding two or three sides of delicate moldings is hard to do on a table without dinging the sanded edges and faces. This jig keeps the easily damaged visible parts scuff and scratch free. After sanding from 120, 240 and then 320 grit, the moldings are ready for the paint shop.
Pretty!
The fiberglassed and faired panel on top will be framed with molding
The Throne Room
First, square up the cabinet openings
I used a 4-1/2″ grinder and my Harbor Freight multi-tool to square up the fiberglass around the cabinet openings. The fiberglassed and faired panel will fit snugly in this opening, and the mahogany moldings will cover the joint.
Houston, we have a problem
I found a small spot where the fiberglass had separated from the plywood. We’ll have to break that open, wet it out real good, and backfill with wood flour-thickened epoxy, then fair again and apply Awlquick before I can finish up the molding installation. And because I can only work on weekends, that means another week will pass before the painter can get in here and finish up.
Dang it!
So I kept cutting and fitting moldings for the other cabinet opening.
Next up…the TP storage cabinet.
That’s looking pretty good…dusty, but good
Almost ready for glue-up
Houston…WTF?
I found another spot where the fiberglass had pulled away from the plywood before the epoxy cured. Unfortunately, the Boatamalans didn’t spot these areas when they were fairing. That would have saved a lot of time. So now I’m waiting for them to repair these areas, then I’ll come back and get the moldings installed so they can continue with primer and paint. In the meantime, there’s plenty of other things going on.
Especially…shiny things. 🙂
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: More Chrome!
1969chriscraftroamer46 